Updated

Canada's counter-tariffs on roughly $20 billion worth of American imports came into force just after midnight Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, escalating the trade conflict between the two long-time free-trade partners. The measures, announced two weeks earlier by Prime Minister Mark Carney's government after negotiations with Washington broke down, cover more than 700 U.S. products with duties of 15%, 25% and 50%. Goods hit with the steepest 50% rate include milk and other dairy products, perfume, video game consoles, golf clubs, fishing rods, steel, aluminium, jackets and T-shirts, while appliances and motorcycles were also targeted. Ottawa framed the package as matching U.S. levies "dollar for dollar" after the Trump administration imposed 50% duties on billions of dollars of Canadian exports in late August. Alongside the tariffs, the Canadian government rolled out a C$7.5 billion support package for affected workers and businesses, including cash-flow funding for companies and help for small and medium-sized enterprises. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc had earlier said Canada would not simply wait for Washington to return to the table. The measures matter because they mark a further breakdown of the decades-old North American free-trade relationship, raising costs for consumers and manufacturers on both sides of the border. Analysts noted the dispute's outcome could set a precedent for how other U.S. trading partners respond to tariff pressure.